Justice 4 Josiah

David Josiah Lawson was a 19-year-old sophomore at Humboldt State
University when he was killed at a party near campus in the
rural, mostly white community of Arcata on April 15, 2017.

Lawson was an intelligent, vibrant, and charismatic student who
had been recruited to Humboldt during a college fair at his high
school in a Southern California. His death rocked the campus
community and a coalition of family, students, faculty, and
advocates have been protesting and rallying for resolution, but
to date, Lawson’s murder remains unsolved.

The California Faculty Association is helping amplify
that message, calling for the CSU Board of Trustees to use
its leverage to help solve the crime and improve safety for all
students, especially students of color at Humboldt and on all 23
CSU campuses.

Faculty leaders again urged CSU Trustees to use their influence
to help solve the murder of Humboldt State student David Josiah
Lawson and make efforts to better protect students of color from
harm at all CSU campuses.

At their meeting this week, CFA challenged CSU Trustees to more
critically scrutinize mental health care on the campuses, spoke
out for stronger measures on student safety, and called for
better use of state funds.

GET IN THE KNOW: The CSU Board of Trustees are
scheduled to talk about the proposed state budget allocation
request, student mental health services, and executive
compensation at its next meeting, which will be held Nov. 13-14
at the CSU Chancellor’s Office in Long Beach.

With budget season on the horizon, Trustees plan to ask for an
additional $456 million in general state funding. Their proposed
CSU budget also assumes $98.3 million in new tuition revenue from
proposed enrollment growth of 5 percent.

MORE ON #JUSTICE4JOSIAH: CSU Chancellor Tim
White held a news conference at Humboldt State on Tuesday, Oct.
9, to discuss the CSU’s role in seeking Justice for David Josiah
Lawson and the recent announcement that President Lisa Rossbacher
will be retiring after the 2018-19 academic year.

As the mother of slain Humboldt State student David Josiah Lawson
made her third appeal to CSU Trustees at today’s meeting, faculty
and students stood arm-in-arm behind her, echoing her call for
the Board to use its leverage to help solve the crime and improve
campus safety.